PCB contaminates remain in Logan Martin Lake, but the risk of human contact with the “probable human carcinogen” is becoming less likely.“PCB (polychlorinated biphenyles) concentrations in fish in Logan Martin Lake have been declining significantly since the mid ‘90s,” said Jerome Hand, public relations director for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
PCB is a compound developed because of its fire and electrical resistance properties. The chemical was used in electrical transformers as insulation and in some pressure-treated woods, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979. However, before that time and since the 1930s, Solutia Corporation, formerly Monsanto Company, dumped PCBs onto the ground and into water. PCBs were carried from Calhoun County, where the Monsanto operation was located, through Talladega County and into St. Clair County through secondary waterways, including Choccolocco Creek.
Hand said that, in 1996, samples from catfish from Logan Martin Lake had high concentrations of PCBs, 3.06 parts per million.
He said PCBs, which build up in the fatty tissues of fish, measured 0.14 ppm in catfish in 2004.
“It looks like it’s going in the right direction,” Hand said.
In early 2005, there were no-consumption advisories for several species of fish in Logan Martin Lake, including striped bass, crappie, blue catfish and spotted bass.
In 2006, that advisory was lifted for fish caught in Logan Martin Lake, however, there remains a no-consumption advisory for all species of fish caught in Choccolocco Creek.
The advisory includes the entire length of Choccolocco Creek from south of Oxford, downstream to where the creek flows into Logan Martin Lake.
PCBs are listed by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen. This listing is used for chemicals that have been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals but have not been proven to cause cancer in humans.
According to heath officials, PCBs have also been associated with a skin disorder know as chloracne, as well as changes in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in human blood.
There is, however, a major cleanup effort along the 48-mile area exposed to PCBs. The cleanup began in Anniston and is slowly working its way downstream to Logan Martin Lake.
Pam Scully, remedial project manager for the EPA, said PCB cleanup efforts upstream are paying off downstream.
She said cleanup efforts, like the removal of PCB-contaminated soil, have prevented further PCB contamination downstream.
Scully also pointed out that sediment flowing downstream is also burying PCB contaminates in Logan Martin Lake.
She estimates PCB contaminates are buried 3 to 4 feet underneath sediments in Logan Martin Lake and she said she doesn’t believe contaminates pose a threat unless unearthed, but she adds they have only begun their study downstream and along Choccolocco Creek.
Scully said there is not a great concern about PCB problems along Logan Martin Lake — even with the development boom along the shoreline.
She said it would take a significant change in and along the lake — like the removal of Logan Martin Dam — for a PCB contamination problem to surface.
“And we don’t believe that’s going to happen,” Scully said.
She said so far researchers are not finding significant amounts of PCB concentrations downstream from Oxford.
“The level of PCB in soil decreases significantly as you get closer to the lake,” Scully said.
She said she suspects there may be PCB concentrations where Snow Creeks connects to Choccolocco Creek, but it’s too early to tell.
Scully said it will take two to three years to complete the downstream study so scientists can determine what remediation work, if any, is needed.
She said it was important to address the upstream PCB issues first, to prevent further PCB releases into Logan Martin Lake.
Isabella Trussell, water quality chairwoman for the Logan Martin Lake Protection Association and a member of the board of directors for the Anniston PCB Site Community Advisory Group for the Consent Degree, agreed it is important and logical to start the PCB cleanup from the source and work downstream.
Trussell said not only was there PCB contamination at and near the old Monsanto site, but PCB contaminated dirt was used in other areas as fill dirt, which is another issue of concern that had to be addressed.
“It makes sense to work down the waterway to prevent future contamination,” Trussell said. “Anything they do to clean up there is good for Logan Martin.”
She said Logan Martin Lake residents need to participate in the PCB remediation process so they will have a say as to what should be done with the contamination and so they will remain informed about possible proposals by the EPA and Solutia Corporation.
Trussell said one of her concerns is shoreline construction and the fluctuation of the lake level and how it will affect PCB contaminates in the lake.
“It’s all so complicated,” Trussell said. “There are no quick solutions.”
She said the advisory group generally meets the third Monday of each month and the public is encouraged and invited to attend.
Trussell said their next meeting is actually the fourth Monday in January. The meeting is slated for 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 22, at the Carver Community Center in Anniston, 720 West 14th St., Anniston.
“It’s a forum for the public to come and ask questions,” Trussell said. “You can get your questions answered.”
